Breeding Veiled chameleons care of Veiled chameleons what to do if you
have a gravid chameleon

Yes she is gravid ! See the eggs . The lump just above her rear leg
is a excellent view of an egg. This girl laid 28 eggs within 24 hours of
taking this photo. The "robins egg" type spots are another sign of being
gravid

Here she is just two days after laying her eggs . You can still see
a little dirt on her side and feet . Look at her tail just down past her
leg joint and above her leg joint. See the indent showing signs of dehydration
.This is normal for just having laid eggs .She is eating and doing well
. Some chameleons will not show any signs of dropping eggs at all. If she
would have laid 18 eggs rather than 28 you would probably not been able
to see any dehydration .

30 days after laying eggs she is back to normal again . Now she
is going through a routine shed .It takes one or two days for her
to shed completely.

You can see the distance between each egg . No you do not have to wash
the eggs . After all, they normally would be buried 12 to 16 inches beneath
the ground

This is a rubbermaid shoe box. Perlite was used as a substrate to incubate
the eggs for the 7 months it takes at 68 to 74 degrees

Corner view of one of the two 1/8 inch holes drilled into the lid for
a little air exchange

Walking around on the floorMy gravid chameleon is walking around on the floor of her cage .
If this is happening you better have the egg laying area ready
for her she is looking for a egg deposit site she is going to lay her eggs.
In an emergency or if you are cramped for room you can use the same
sized container as the above pictures. If your cage is large enough
you will have room for this extra addition to your chameleons living area
with out a great degree of trouble when it comes time to lay eggs
! Chameleons will not hesitate to use the flower pot that a living plant
is growing in to deposit the eggs . And most people keep a living plant
inside of the cage with their chameleon. A 3 gallon pot is a good egg deposit
site also . Or you can use a 33 gallon trash can with 16 to 20 inches of
soil for a egg site .Soil needs to be moist. Your chameleon will dig down
and deposit her eggs.
Egg care: People ask if keeping the eggs in a
dark room like a closet is better than allowing light to hit the eggs .
I can answer that question like this . We have kept veiled eggs in both
areas. One year we had them close to a southern exposed window .
Lots of light . The slightest bit of an increase in a minimal amount of
mold in the side of the box that had the most light occurred. Nothing to
worry about ! But we still keep them out of direct sunlight in a room with
normal amounts of light . The lighting is off during the daytime .
Wile using the "mold " word white mold showing on the eggs just after laying
is usually a sign the eggs are infertile black or dark mold is usually
a sign to much water used when you mixed your substrate together
.
Good eggs are close to white in color dark eggs usually are
also bad . Yellow shinny eggs are usually bad . Don't know or are not sure
about the color of a chameleon egg ? Look at a chicken egg like the ones
in your refrigerator . The color is very similar. Shrinking eggs are another
sign of being infertile . But can also be a sign of low humidity levels
in your egg box .

View of dented egg with white mold . Not good !

View of dented egg . Probably not fertile

Remove dented eggs or not to remove dented eggs? I will leave a dented egg in the egg box until I see mold and
shrinking occur. It actually has to be completely collapsed before I consider
it as infertile and remove it . Even if shrunken I will leave it
in the box for the complete incubation cycle . More than once chameleon
eggs thought to be "bad " have hatched. Much to my surprise
out walks a perfectly healthy baby chameleon . Truly a treat !

Mixture of pearlite and water : I have 16 oz deli cups I fill two of them (32 oz) adding one
quarter cup water shake well to mix water with perlite .I have always
used filtered tap water ! I also mist the lids of these boxes two times
per month . You can see a little bit of moisture build up on the side walls
of the egg box during the AM because of a temperature difference . I notice
it disappears about every 14 days that's why I mist the lid only twice
per month and it allows more fresh air inside as well .

Incubation temperatures: 68 ntl (night time lows) 74
dth ( day time highs) Fahrenheit Temperatures relating to faster incubation times for veiled chameleon
eggs :
Over the last few years I have had several people tell
me they had good results using higher temperatures to incubate Veiled
eggs .85 degrees F . I do not advise using higher temps simply because
the 68 - 74 degrees F temps work so good for me. I also notice no albumin
left in the eggs incubated at the lower temperatures . It has been
my experience babies born with higher temps were smaller chameleons at
birth . This is just my experience . Another interesting thing is none
of the breeders using higher temperatures are still breeding veiled
chameleons. If your eggs get warmer for a few days it's nothing to worry
about anything higher than 85 would be bad for the eggs . Generally
cooler is better than warmer . When saying warmer ! I am speaking
to the extreme high temperatures above 85 F and lows in the mid 60's .

Feeding relative to egg productionHow many food items is correct.What kind of feeder insects to use .
The psychical condition or your chameleon is important to the results
of egg laying . Her condition is controlled by her feeding habits that
you are in charge of. It's up you you to feed her enough so she can develop
all the eggs in her body. Allowing her to be in good enough health
to deliver them . This is not to tuff to do .
If she is gravid feed her all she wants to eat 8 3/4 to
full grown crickets per feeding (daily) is going to do nicely coating them
with calcium and including vitamin supplements also . You will notice she
will eat as many as you place in her cage . She will over eat if allowed
to . It will not hurt her but she will simply pass undigested insect parts
in her stool as a result of over feeding .
You can use 3 oz of tap water and place a stool sample
in the water to look at the size of the particles in the water . All the
particulate should be even in size as well as small see any full sized
legs of a cricket and you will be looking at a chameleon who is being over
feed. Vary her diet wile gravid if you can.
Superworms (Zophobas morio) and wax worms ( Galleria mellonella
) are fairly easy to obtain . More exotic food items like silk worms
are sometimes available but expensive. Stick bugs also are
sometimes available .
A large worm from south America pops up into the reptile trade
every so often "butter worm" is one name that comes to mind . These
insect larva do not eat anything found here in the USA and as a result
might be left in a container for a few weeks before we get them as
a food item They have survived on the same protein that your
chameleon wants from them . Yes! This worm is not a very good food
source! Unlike superworms that are! So try not to get the names mixed
up. Remember the scientific name of the superworms (Zophobas morio).

Water:
Every living animal requires water to survive. Chameleons
should be offered water every day ! I use a drip system hooked to a automatic
timer it simply drips water inside onto the plant and the chameleon
will see it dripping and drink . 35 minutes of dripping is plenty for a
Veiled . They are not water hogs . Because I am located in South Florida
I also will include a afternoon drip session on the hot summer days . All
my Veilds will drink in the afternoon on these hot days . Hot days here
are in the 90's and the evening temperatures on these hot days will sometimes
be in the mid to upper 80's . That is HOT ! It's this time of the
year when I remove all my animals from this extended heat and keep them
inside of a building . At night I will turn on a air conditioner to cool
them . The over all health and condition of the animals treated like this
is amazing they keep their size they don't not shrink keep weight and seem
better adjusted . These same females will dig a hole drop 30 eggs and come
back up a plant without to much to do about it . Back before adopting this
attitude of cooling them at night I lost females after egg laying
.

If you need to use a temporary water system You can use a deli
cup with a hole in it . Very simple and it works jut fine.

This little stream of water will drip from the deli cup for approximately
40 minutes . The hole size was made using a pin from a sewing box . But
don't tell my wife I was in her sewing box again

Another picture of the water dripping

Water or hydration Yes hydration or water . My point in using these terms
are simply this . You already know Chameleons drink water ! But did you
know by caring for the feeder insects allowing them plenty of fruit or
vegetables or using wet gut load you can be adding moisture to your chameleons
diet. Feeding a cricket stuffed with carrot or other vegetables is a benefit
to your chameleon . It's better than feeding a cricket that is starving
or under feed.

Baby care for Veiled Chameleons

Babies 0 to 4 weeks :Caging or container. The first days up to two weeks are
the most critical for babies . Although food and water is the
most important part of a baby chameleon living . A proper environment is
also needed .The amount of babies per container . Small branches
for little feet to grip are important. The size of the branch should allow
the little feet to grip the branch securely. The height of these
branches is also important some breeders like to keep the branches close
enough to the floor of the container to allow for hunting feeder
insects from the floor as well as the branches . But caution needs to be
taken when using this method of floor feeding so assure a clean floor at
all times if you decide to use this type of approach cleaning nightly is
necessary . Cup feeding is better you can replace the cup daily .
Fresh stool deposits can fool the babies into thinking there is a drop
of water ready to be consumed. Misting three time per day is
recommended . You will notice most babies will drink readily from these
branches . Using a wet cricket food/gut load is also an advantage
for the chameleon babies to get a little more water from a properly
hydrated feeder insect . Vegetables can be used or a wet gut load
to feed to crickets.

Water Misting spray bottle Water is the key to all living things ! And a small chameleon
who's weight is less than ďone gramĒ is in need of water three times
per day . Knowing how very little babies weigh is important allowing
you to realize the importance of misting for water consumption . Tap water
left standing over night in a open container is just fine to use . (Do
not add bleach to the water thinking you are helping your chameleon .)
Misting one side of the container if using a solid walled container
is advisable also if using a screen cage you should see the
chameleon advance to drink . This can be one reason why you should not
mist directly on the chameleon It can cause them to retreat form
drinking . Your are no doubt going to get water on the baby . Itís OK and
for many itís is helpful to do so . But also itís a from of harassing them
so do so with caution . Room temperature water is best . It is true in
the wild the water temp is a bit cooler than the air temperature. But nowhere
close to an ice cubes temperature. Ice cubes allowed to melt
providing water is not a good means of watering a baby chameleon
.
We can debate over the type of spray to be used . But as long
as water is supplied and the animal is drinking you have it correct . Atomizer
type spray bottles are fairly common all over the world. Ideally
a small green house mister could be used on a automatic timer
as long as you allow for the water to drain from the container.

Feeder insects 0 to 4 week chameleon babies 3 to 4 weeks before you expect to hatch babies you should
set up your drosophilia cultures . If you have to toss some
away then you are doing it correctly ! Donít worry , when 20 babies are
eating your drosophilia will disappear How many cultures per baby
! Depends on the culture size . And how long do you keep feeding them these
small flies ? Depending on the species 3 to 5 weeks. If you have a smaller
species of chameleon you will continue to use them as needed. You will
know just buy looking at the growth of the baby .Babies double
in size rapidly . Usually within 30 days baby chameleonís will out
grow the need for drosophilia .Then you will not need to use flies crickets
will fill in the gap nicely..
As these animals grow try to remember that a varied diet is a good
thing for the health of your animal at 5 weeks small wax worms or
if you are lucky enough to have available to you baby super worms
that have shed their exoskeleton you can feed these sparingly.

Culture size can be tricky . How large a culture should you have
to feed 10 baby chameleons daily 2 to 3 times per day? How many of them
? The larger the culture is in diameter the more insects will be produced.
As long as you supply a larger number of adult FF to deposit eggs in the
medium . 10 babies you need 3 to 5 cultures (3inch base size) weekly
up and producing FF before your babies hatch! If it sounds
a little tricky it really is not to hard to do .If you are not certain
about raising from scratch you can always purchase FF from insect
suppliers .
D. melangaster are very easy to culture D hydei are a little harder
for a beginner . So start with the easy one first .
The melanogaster are tiny but make up for their small size by
prolific breeding .Hydei are a little larger take longer to produce . Depending
on the amount of time you have to commit to raising flies one or the other
will work.
Pinhead crickets explained as they relate to baby chameleons
.. Pinheads are one week old crickets commercial cricket breeders
will supply you with these small ones as long as you ask them to . But
make no mistake about ! You must explain to the cricket supplier what you
need . Some will refer to these as dust sized, one day old, just hatch,
ant sized . You need to get your point across to them by explaining exactly
what you need ! Your needs for these very small crickets will only be 10
to 20 days . These baby crickets will grow quickly !
You want to raise or purchase ant sized crickets for your baby
chameleons directly out of the egg. For the first two weeks meals
. Try not to dump to many into the container this can cause a baby to become
confused unable to decide which one to eat ! It happens Ö Some
will go directly to flies because of the movement of the flies is different
than the crickets . Some will go to crickets .
FF and crickets mixed together Yes you can mix them .
FF will travel all over you cage and be eaten . Crickets will be
eaten from a cup if you provide or broadcast them into you cage .
Broadcasting crickets this simply means allowing them to free roam
in the cage . It allows the babies to hunt the insects a perfectly natural
instinct. Supplying a small amount of cricket food inside the chameleon
cage can be a good thing also allowing those uneaten crickets to a food
source other than the baby chameleon . Yes ! Baby crickets will bite baby
chameleons if left in large numbers inside of your chameleons container
.
Basking The amount of time allowed for basking can vary greatly.
But all babies need to bask allowing them to digest properly . You
will recognize basking when your babies turn their bodies leaning
toward the sun or artificial lighting and changes color to darken themselves
thus regulating body temperature . If you have a group of babies in a screen
cage or a solid wall container . You will see the babies begin to
move and taking cover under leaves retreating to cooler places. That is
the time to remove them from the high temperatures. Allowing them
to become cooled to room temperatures below basking spot temperature Usually
this happens within 10 minutes . Basking can occur three time daily
during the babies first few weeks . Water can be supplied after basking
.
Artificial lighting Real sunlight is what all the bulb mfg.'s are trying to
simulate . And some of these bulbs work just fine . When in doubt use real
sunlight for brief periods of time 10 to 15 minutes at a time . Big hint
here . Set a timer of some type to measure the amount of time your babies
in sunlight , 20 minutes could be too long !
If keeping babies outside .Wild fruit flies are very easy to culture
and readily available throughout the day time. Chameleons are opportunistic
feeders and will eat all through the day time hours given the constant
availability of these small flies . Other larger flies will also be attracted
and consumed.

Supplements are as important as a good food supply
. Supplements can only become effective as the animals begin to eat larger
meals . And in tiny hatchlings can cause blockage if used improperly .
This does not mean you donít use them . There are ways of providing supplements
to a one week old baby without any extra effort by simply using a
high quality cricket gut load ! Remember we are talking about babies 0
to 5 weeks old not 4 week old animals . At 4 weeks you can begin to apply
supplements if you desire.

Humidity How can you keep the humidity high in a babies
cage . A better question is. What is a humidity . Itís not soaking everything
to allow mold and bacteria to develop . It is allowing the air to carry
moisture. The amount of moisture in the air is what most people who need
to add humidity will be trying to accomplish . Ultra sonic humidifiers
are a good means of adding humidity to the air in a room . A basic quick
fix also is to dampen a towel or other clean cloth . Drape it over the
cage and it will add humidity to the air . This is a quick fix ! Adding
a 16 oz deli cup on the top of this cloth with a pin hole in the bottom
allowing water to drain onto the cloth adds humidity for longer amounts
of time . Using real plants and spraying them daily will increase humidity
levels . Having more them one plants in the room you keep animals in need
of higher humidity levels can also be of help . Closing the door to this
room allows the humidity to be trapped inside the room . A water dish with
river rocks filled with water will disperse some humidity . You should
not be able to see the water in the bowl just the rocks ..

Babies 5 weeks to 4 months old OK assuming you have just purchased a baby chameleon and your
supplier / breeder has taken the time to raise it to 5 weeks of age. You
have a well started chameleon growing rapidly in need of some special care
and feeding requirements for all intents and purposes you have
a baby to care for feeding on pin head or fly sized crickets or crickets
that do not exceed the width of its head . small wax worms or termite
larva..
Remember that chameleons chew the insects they eat and a little
larger sized cricket can be consumed without trouble . Watching your baby
chameleon struggle to swallow a larger insect can look gruesome this
is because it is. After saying that we should caution you from using
larger sized feeder insects as a staple in the diet . Definitely it is
better for a chameleon to eat small meals throughout the day on different
occasions than one larger meal before you go to work . All of us needing
to be away during working hours can only feed one time in the morning
before we depart to our jobs . This is one good reason to use as large
a cage as possible heavily planted with plants for the baby to roam on
. A days supply of feeder insects loose inside of this container
. This also is another good reason for using the smaller feeder insects.
. Realizing you are making attempts to feed throughout the day you should
see the importance of wet gut loaded crickets and a small amount
of dry gut load inside the cage will be a helpful addition to the crickets
diet and your babies diet. A gut loaded cricket is going to serve somewhat
as a water supply as well as supply protein for the days meals.
A small amount of citrus placed in the cage to allow the crickets
to get moisture. If no citrus is available then supply carrot, yellow squash,
collard greens. This will also be a advantage to the chameleon as
it will usually become quite aware that itís food source is lurking next
to these vegetables.
Feed daily ! If you miss a day donít be to concerned.
Look to see that you are not allowing a build up of feeder crickets in
the cage .
Rapid growth is normal in baby chameleons. After your animal
has reached a sub adult size you can usually cut back on the constant supply
of feeder insects in itís cage. Most often the chameleon will by itself
slow eating because of seasonal changes and light cycle . What happens
if you continue to feed your animal as if it were a baby is simple. It
will grow to adult size faster than it normally would have.. Reptiles use
all the food you feed them to grow. They are quite efficient at this. But
because we are keeping these animals is captivity and feeding certainly
daily almost hourly we are all probably over feeding or supplying just
one feeder insect in to large a volume. This is where all the additional
supplements are so important. Vitamins supply vigor and stimulate activity
in reptiles. Minerals are the building blocks for bone and muscle. A balance
is required for healthy growth. Minerals are best supplied through diversity
in food groups . But lets face it who really can supply all the different
types of insect that can be found naturally in a chameleon natural
environment Coating feeder insects with supplements can be a value during
the life of your pet. If left in the cage a coated insect eaten 4 hours
after you have coated it, most of the coating has been rubbed of or fallen
off. But the gut loaded cricket still has a supply of both vitamins and
mineral inside itís gut. Combining this with the protein that the feeder
insect provides you are supplying a well balanced meal.
Chameleons only have enough digestive fluids to digest the ideal
sized meal . Feeding a larger meal than they are capable of digesting is
only going to cause them to pass the unused portion of the meal as
waste to the bottom of your cage .
It is important to keep the temps in the lower range wile
at work a short bask during mid day will benefit the growth of the baby
. Timers for this are available at most every large hardware store for
aprox $8.00
Placing the animal in a room where it can see natural sunlight will
be a benefit also to regulate your chameleon to a day and night cycle.
Remember your chameleon needs itís rest at night leaving a light on is
not good for your animal . If at all possible place the cage next
to a window in a room with a southern exposure this is of course if you
are in the northern hemisphere

Potato as cricket food : potatoe that has been held in
a refrigeration for storage will loose quite a bit of the nutritional
value as this cooling process turns the starch in to sugar . In a round
about way you are feeding you crickets a ďvegetable TwinkieĒ. Commercial
cricket growers will use potatoes as a means of supplying water and food
to these insects wile shipping them to your home . This works well and
keeps the crickets hydrated and in good shape until. you receive them .Itís
simple economics to chose potato as a food when shipping crickets.
Itís what works best for the short ride from supplier to your home.